On Oct. 3 and 4, Missouri’s own Midwest Princess made a triumphant return to her home state with two packed shows at the Museum and Memorial Park in Kansas City. Missouri was lucky enough to make the cut for Chappell Roan’s whirlwind “Visions of Damsels and Other Dangerous Things” tour — with only eight shows across Kansas City, New York City and Pasadena. This pop-up tour marks the first time Roan has toured since her “Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess” tour concluded in October 2024.
For anyone who’s not familiar with the pop phenomenon’s surprising background story, Roan is a born and raised Missourian. Roan was born Kayleigh Rose Amstutz in Willard, Mo., where she lived until 2018. Roan’s upbringing was conservative, a complete 180 from the bold and progressive persona she presents now — a difference she briefly touched upon at her show on Oct. 3, which I was lucky enough to attend.
Given Roan’s incredible string of hits, from “Hot to Go” to “Good Luck Babe” and “The Subway,” I was expecting the concert to be crowded, but the one-woman music festival I arrived at was more than I could’ve ever imagined. Everywhere you looked, concertgoers were decked out in pink and glitter from head to toe. It felt like stepping into the Pink Pony Club itself from the moment I scanned my ticket and walked in. Before the show even truly started, several local drag performers came out to get the energy of the crowd up. During her show, Roan mentioned that her very first time attending a drag show was at Hamburger Mary’s, a Kansas City burger joint that provides drag entertainment. Knowing that her experiences with drag, which is now such a big part of her stage persona, started in Missouri of all places, made the slice of queer culture that I saw feel even more special.
After opener Japanese Breakfast put on a wonderful show, Roan arrived to projections of a storybook opening, flaming castles and flying dragons. Opening with “Super Graphic Ultra Modern Girl,” Roan seamlessly integrated the darker iteration of a fairytale with the unapologetic fun of her “Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess” album. As someone who’s been a fan since “Red Wine Supernova” was released in 2023, watching her career go from an EP and a few singles on Spotify to a crowd of 35,000 people screaming along to every word and dancing like their lives depended on it was, simply put, magical. It truly seemed like every single person knew the words to every single song and was putting their entire soul into singing along, and Roan agreed. During “Hot To Go,” she commended Kansas City for doing the dance without having to be prompted (although why you would refuse to do the iconic dance at the show is beyond me).
Having such a big artist choose to visit Missouri for such a limited tour was already amazing, but hearing Roan reflect briefly on her experiences during an interlude reminded me that this is more than just a tour stop for her — Missouri is Roan’s home state, and she knows better than anyone the struggles of feeling like you don’t fit into the traditional Midwest mold, which for many people, carries heavy expectations about sexuality, gender identity and presentation. During her speech, Roan talked about how much Kansas City showed up for her. Before I even arrived in the city, I saw on social media just how much excitement surrounded Roan’s performance- a giant mural of her was created next to Hamburger Mary’s, lights across the city (including Union Station) were lit up pink, and countless small businesses offered Roan-themed items for a limited time.
She also delivered a touching message about the importance of having a safe space for queer people, especially in a state like Missouri, saying, “There are a lot of ways to do this job, and it’s never been more clear, now, this year, that actually the only thing I care about is bringing queer people joy.”
All in all, Roan’s show was a beyond-impressive tribute to queer culture, fairytales and the Midwest. The vocals were incredible, the costumes spanned from medieval to rock and each one looked fabulous; the set was worthy of any damsel, and the energy was infectious.